In general, when the vehicle is driven, the situation at the rear as well as the situation in front of the vehicle is a very important factor. Particularly, when the vehicle changes lanes or reverses, it is necessary to correctly recognize the situations at the rear side and the rear left and right sides to prevent an accident.
In changing lanes or reversing the vehicle, the driver determines the situation at the rear side or the rear left or right side through the both side mirrors protruding on both sides of the vehicle body or the rear-view mirror mounted on the inside of the vehicle, and then performs lane change or reversing when the vehicles traveling behind the driver's vehicle are at a safe distance or it is determined that there is no obstacle behind the drive's vehicle.
However, beginners, who are not accustomed to using the side mirrors and the rear-view mirror while driving to determine a rear situation, may cause a collision and have difficulty in correctly recognizing rear obstacles.
To address this issue, in recent years, a camera module is commonly installed at the front or rear of a vehicle to photograph front and rear traffic information and a subject and output the information through a display device provided in the vehicle to monitor a situation in front of or behind the vehicle, particularly, a blind spot situation so as to facilitate safe driving.
However, such a camera module is mounted on the front surface, rear surface, left side surface and right side surface of the vehicle and exposed to the outside. Accordingly, when it rains or snows or the temperature suddenly falls, the camera lens may be frosted or the surface of the lens may be covered with ice, thereby deteriorating the image quality and clarity of images.
Camera modules may be used in various fields. For example, they may be used for CCTVs, vehicle black boxes, rear cameras used in parking, and the like.
Camera modules used for security, vehicles, and the like may be used outdoors. Therefore, at least a part of the components of the camera module may be exposed to the outside. Particularly, since the lens, which is a component of the camera module, needs to be exposed to the outside to photograph a subject, it may be sensitive to the surrounding environment.
Particularly, when the ambient temperature falls below the freezing point, frost may be adhered to the exposed portion of the lens, which may hinder the light from entering the lens, disabling operation of the camera module or blurring or distorting a captured image.
Therefore, improvement is required.